Hit and Miss
Movie Lover:
Passe from
Canada -- May, 22, 2009
The Aussie Horror Collection Volume 1 obviously had some care and attention put into it, both in selecting the films and in finding the best prints; consequently, that set is an essential set, a real delight.
This collection, Volume 2, however, is not so good. The films chosen are certainly little-seen Australian horrors--and compared to American horrors of the time, are quite interesting--but some of them are justly little-seen.
For that matter, the transfers are careless pan-and-scans. This really interferes with the experience of enjoying the films, especially the good ones.
Also, unlike Volume 1, Volume 2 is empty in the special features department. Of course there are the obligatory trailers and a 'trivia' feature.
The films themselves:
The Dreaming is a silly movie that attempts to be both a slasher and a Peter Weir-style mystical horror, but it succeeds at neither. Instead it is a slow, pretentious, predictable slasher. 1.5/5
The Survivor is a fascinating movie, directed by David Hemmings, with the lovely Jenny Agutter. It doesn't make a lot of sense and can be a bit dull, but it's still interesting. 2.5/5
Voyage into Fear is a mood-piece, a sort of dark drama that becomes increasingly confusing until everything is explained by a deus ex machina in the last 30 seconds. It's still a pretty good movie, actually. 3/5
Snapshot is, in fact, a very good film about a young girl with low self-esteem (thanks to an unpleasant boss, a horrible mother, and a creepy stalker boyfriend) taken into the modeling industry by a conscienceless society lady. After doing a nude photo shoot, it suddenly seems there's a conspiracy by everyone to drive her mad and possibly to kill her. Unfortunately, this film is subjected to pan-and-scan treatment, too. 4.5/5
For the price at the time of this review ($6.95), this set is worth it; but it's unlikely the viewer will enjoy every film inside.
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